The Victorian Guide to Sex: Desire and deviance in the 19th Century

by Fern Riddell

An exciting factual romp through sexual desire, practises and deviance in the Victorian era. The Victorian Guide to Sex will reveal advice and ideas on sexuality from the Victorian period. Drawing on both satirical and real life events from the period, it explores every facet of sexuality that the Victorians encountered. Reproducing original advertisements and letters, with extracts taken from memoirs, legal cases, newspaper advice columns, and collections held in the Museum of London and the British Museum, this book lifts the veil from historical sexual attitudes.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Sexuality, Victorian, Historical, Research

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[K.J. Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been hugely looking forward to this as I follow the author's very entertaining Twitter feed (@FernRiddell if you like Victoriana). It's crammed with fascinating stuff, giving a much broader and more nuanced view of Victorian attitudes to sex - including a huge emphasis on female sexual pleasure (many people believed the woman could only get pregnant if she had an orgasm. I like this theory.)

I wasn't entirely sold on the way it's presented, as a series of guides written by fictional Victorians. It was fun, and well done, with amusingly done voices, but I'd rather have had more of the author's comment and expertise from a modern perspective, to give more context. That's not so much a criticism of this book as a plea for another, bigger, more authoritative one, as it's a long time since The Other Victorians: A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England.

I would also have liked more on nonstandard sex. This is basically a Victorian Guide to Hetero Sex, and while the vast majority of material would of course be het, there is plenty of queer history out there. (I massively recommend Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England, for example, the story of Victorian drag queens.)

Generally this is fun, informative and highly recommended for anyone interested in Victorian private lives and getting a wider, if not comprehensive, sense of how people lived and thought.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting and amusing. The conceit of presenting the information from the point of view of a group of fictional Victorians added to the amusement but unfortunately detracted from the interest. I would have preferred more direct quotes, better referencing, and more comment from a knowledgeable author - the way Liza Picard does brilliantly in Victorian London.

[Jerome Lyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern Riddell goes after the tired cliche of Victorian England realm of prude or deviants in an original, engaging and witty style.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this - it's gloriously fun, both funny and insightful. I did, however, find myself wishing for footnotes or endnotes, explanations, and more direct engagement with the historiography (Riddell does mention the Maines issue at the end, though). But that's not the point of the book, and I suspect it would triple its size and possibly make it less appealing to its intended audience. So much fun despite this.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the format of people from the era giving advice on all aspects of sex and relationships, this book analyses what we thought we knew about Victorian attitudes and what is true. It's surprising how much of what they believed resonates with 21st century society but other beliefs are very much out of date. It also includes a quick look at some of the women making strides in Victorian society and laws brought in that impact on us today.

[Klára · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na to, že to byla kniha za pár korun, byla jsem mile překvapena. Celkem čtivá rešerže, ve které se dozvíte základní info z dob dávných a minulých. Neříkám, že jsem občas knihu neodložila a netrvalo mi chvilku se začíst, ale přesto vzhledem k žánru, musím hodnotit nadprůměrně. Patrně to však ale nebude kniha, kterou je třeba kupovat a mít doma. Po jednom přečtení předá vše potřebné a pak ji můžete poslat dalším potenciálním čtenářům.

[Verity W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun insight into the scope and range of views on sex, sexuality and deviance in Victorian Britain. I liked the format of sections written by various personas with expertise in the various areas. I'd love to read more about some of the topics brought up in this so I suspect I'll be looking for further reading in the area.

[Ellie Kidger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Framed as a collection of Victorian manuals and accounts, this book offers a well-researched look into Victorian sex lives and relationships. The use of illustrations helps immerse you into the world of 19th century flirting and sex, and the use of contemporary gossip and open secrets helps it feel genuinely Victorian.

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviewers have commented, the fictionalized framing of this made it less interesting to me; the book is narrated by a number of "Victorian experts" rather than being written as a work of nonfiction. It's readable and fun but not precisely what I was looking for.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this book but I think I would have preferred a straight history book rather than the conceit of the four storytellers. Interesting.

[Daramegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://daramegan.cz/recenze/sex-za-ca...

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information and I enjoyed the format of the book.

[Tanwen Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun look at the reality of what Victorians were like behind the bedroom door. The book is mostly told from several (fictional) contemporary experts who extol their advice. This has been gleaned by the author from in depth research of a raft of Victorian guides and letters. However, its not very well cited, so if you want to learn more after reading this book then you're likely to be out of luck.

[Queen Talk Talk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I would have liked the pictures to have been bigger.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

In theory, an interesting idea. However, the research undertaken would be more usefully shared in a more straightforward manner. While I can appreciate the desire to be creative and try to make a topic of history accessible in an innovative way, someone with more than a passing interest in history in general or this topic in particular may not get much out of it.

Unfortunately, the telling-history-through-the-perspectives-of-different-characters gimmick flops. This effect is partially due to the characters' need to include information that is well-known to a modern audience. Okay, so the average Victorian might not have had a basic understanding about lady bits and gentleman bits, but most readers of our age certainly do. So why have a character trot out this information and have the reader slog through it? This particular part reads like the reproduction chapter in a junior-high science textbook.

Most people read history books because they don't want to go to the original sources, so building chapters around the voices of "original" sources is counter-intuitive. History books are supposed to give us an analysis from the perspective of today, but these characters are unable to analyze themselves, stuck in the past as they are. While critical thinking while reading is important, the reader effectively has to do the work with this book, applying their own comparison between Victorian thinking and attitudes and those of today.

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable romp, debunking the myth of Victorian prudery, but in my view it would have been better written in Fern's own, very intelligent, voice rather than using different characters to take us through each chapter. Too often the voices sound similar because it is actually Fern speaking, rather than her fictional guides. But her comprehensive and fascinating research shines through, and whilst it occasionally makes her characters a little superfluous and occasionally a distraction (trying to work out their ages for example, as they seem to have been alive before and throughout Victoria's reign)there is little doubt this a first step on a career in TV work and academic writing.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well thought out amusing run through Victorian attitudes to sex. Clearly laid out and causing the reader to see past the usual stereotypes of Victorian behaviour. I particularly enjoyed the introduction for setting the scene and the individual advice column type chapters each dealing with particular topics or speaking to a specific audience. Fab!

[Elgyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forma mi přišla zvláštní.

Je fajn použít jako ilustraci dobové obrázky, včetně laskavého svolení k otištění. Ale byl by takový problém přeložit text, krerý na nich je?

s. 100 ´doslova

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Morsom, og litt interessant. Men likte ikke måten det var lagt opp, med de forskjellige pamflettene skrevet av liksompersoner som levde da. Syntes det ødela for flyten. Boken føltes ikke sammenhengende, og ble til tider repetativ.